Pump rod



Sept; 29, 1925.

F. W. 'CARLSON PUMP ROD Filed 1924 gwumtpg Patented Sept. 29, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK WILLIAM GARLSON, OF OILFIELDS, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN NELSON SCAR-LETT AND ONE-FOURTH T0 LELAND ERASTIS AXTELL, OF

OILFIELDS, CALIFORNIA.

PUMP ROD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK WILLIAM CARL- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oilfields, in the county of Fresno and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pump Rods, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a novel type of pump rod, the object of the invention being to provide means associated with the pump rod whereby the removal of such rods from deep wells and their replacement in said wells may be facilitated.

In my co-pending application Serial Number 753,589. filed on the 2nd day of December 1924, I have disclosed a pump rod handling device adapted to take a stand of pump rods from the pump rod elevator and transfer them to pump rod hangers supported from the usual derrick of a deep well, such as an oil well. The present application is devoted to the protection of my novel. type of rod irrespective of the particular type of handling device that may be used.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pump rod showing the same associated with the handling tool of my prior application.

Figure 2 is a detail view of the front end of the handling tool.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of one of the rods, and

Figure 4. is a detail view of the separable bushing adapted to be applied to rods already in use.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

The pump rods used in deep wells such as oil wells are made up of a plurality of rod sections 5, having threaded portions 6 at their opposite ends. These threaded portions are adapted to be engaged by couplings (not shown) by which the sections are united to form a pump rod which may be several thousand feet in length.

It sometimes becomes necessary to remove these extremely long pump rods from deep wells. Under the old practice the rods were removed in stands a stand of rods comprising two or three rod sections and said stands were laid out upon the ground. Under a later and much improved practice the stands are hung from the derrick that is associated with the well. This is better practice because it keeps the rods clean and because the rods remain in a substantially vertical position while they are out of the well so that their reentry into the well. is facilitated when the rod is to be replaced. In addition to being provided: with the threaded portions 6, each rod section is provided with a pair of shoulders 7 and 8 inwardly of said threaded portions. In removing the pump rods from the well a pump rod elevator comprising a yoke 9 having jaws 10 which are adapted to engage beneath the uppermost shoulder 8 of the top rod, is engaged with said shoulder and the elevator, together with the rods, are hoisted by means of a line 9 from the usual engine, commonly associated with deep wells, until a stand of rods i. e. twoor three rods is clear of the well casing and until a fourth rod (if there are three rods in the stand) has its uppermost shoulder 8 far enough above the upper end of the well casing to permit of a second elevator being engaged therewith. Then the line 9 is slackened until this second elevator rests upon the upper end of the well casing. Said second elevator is then supporting all of the pump rods that remain in the well. Where a rod is provided with only the shoulders 7 and 8,

the handling tool which comprises a lever 11..

having forked head 11 cannot be engaged with the uppermost pump rod casing until the upper elevator has been lowered enough to make room for the application of the] forked head 11 of the handling tool, and during the time between the release of the elevator to lower it and the time that it takes the derrick man to apply the handling tool to the shoulder 8, in place of the elevator, the stand of pump rods is supported wholly from the lower elevator and since these rods are more or less flexible they tend to sag or bend throughout their height. In order to remedy this difficulty and to make it possible to apply a handling tool to the stand of pump rods before the tension on the elevator is relieved, I apply another shoulder 12 to the rods below the shoulder 8 and in Fi ure 1 I have illustrated the handling todl engaged with. this added shoulder and I ill) have illustrated the elevator still in engagement with the shoulder 8 preparatory to having the tension relieved thereon. Thus, before the elevator is lowered the derrick man has the handling tool engaged with the stand of rods and may take the weight of the stand of rods to transfer them to usual hangers upon the derrick frame, during the time that the elevator is being lowered to the ground.

The operation of the particular handling tool illustrated in Figure 1 has been fully set forth in my co-pending application above identified and need not be repeated here. It sufiices to say that the operation when using rods having the additional shoulder 12 constituting the subject matter of the present invention is as follows: After a stand of rods has been hoisted out of the well and a second elevator has been engaged with the shoulder 8 of the fourth rod, which is the rod that is just projecting above the top of the well casing, the derrick man, who stands on a platform at an elevated position in the derrick, applies a handling tool which may be the handling tool illustrated in Figure 1, to the shoulder 12 and takes the weight of the stand of rods. Then the upper elevator is lowered by the slackening of the cable 9 from. the engine room and returns to the ground. During the descent of this elevator men stationed below unscrew the lower end of the third rod, or the lowermost rod of the stand, from the string of rods therebelow and as soon as the stand of rods has been completely detached from the rods therebelow the derrick man, by means of the handling tool swings them bodily on suspension cable 11 to a position where suitable hangers of conventional form may be engaged with either the shoulders 7 and 8, or with a portion of the body of the pump rods above the handling tool. After the uppermost rod of the stand has had its upper end engaged with a hanger, as above set forth, the derrick man lowers the head 11 of the handling tool and lets the weight of the stand of rods come on the hanger. He then withdraws the handling tool and returns it to its former position preparatory to engaging the collar 12 of the next succeeding stand of rods. Under ac tual test it is shown that I save of the time required to transfer a stand of rods from a position of attachment to the string of pump rods, to the supporting hanger.

Multiply this by the number of stands in a string of rods several thousand feet long and it will be readily seen that a very great saving in time and labor is effected. In Figure 3, I have illustrated the shoulder 12 as being formed as an integral part of rods 5. This may be done by upsetting the rods. In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a sectional bushing, that is, a bushing made in two parts 20, 20 adapted to be placed around the pump rods and either welded thereto or held thereon in any desired manner. By the employment of bushings of this charac ter I am enabled to apply the necessary supporting collar 12 to pump rods already in use and of which the oil companies have thousands in hand. It is not necessary to apply the shoulder 12 to every pump rod. It is sufficient to apply it to every third pump rod though it may be applied to every pump rod if desired.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth but that it includes within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A pump rod having a shoulder formed thereon at such a point that when an elevator is applied thereto there is room enough above said shoulder for the engagement of the pump rod by a hanger, and an additional shoulder below the first named shoulder, adapted to be engaged by ahandling tool.

2. A pump rod having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by an elevator, and a second shoulder located at such point as to permit the application of a suspending and handling tool thereto before the elevator is released.

3. A pump rod comprising a body portion, a threaded extension at the end of the body portion and three shoulders inwardly of said threaded extension, one adapted to be engaged by a hanger, another adapted to be engaged by an elevator and the third adapted to be engaged by a handling tool, while the elevator is still in engagement with the second named shoulder.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifiX my signature.

FRANK WILLIAH CARLSON. 

